La Rochelle micro-climate not an urban myth, but don’t compare it with the Med

Description:

It has become a popular urban legend that the area around La Rochelle has a climate equal to that of Nice on the Côte d'Azur, despite having a more northerly latitude than Montreal in Canada, and Kouriles Islands in Russia.  This week, Sud-Ouest newspaper published some facts courtesy of Météo France that put the record straight.

In the last decade the area around La Rochelle has benefited from an average of 2069 sunshine hours per year, according to Jean-Pierre Bienvenu of Météo France.  This puts the area third behind the Côte d'Azur and Languedoc-Roussillon (Montpellier).  However, it is not a close thing, as these areas on the Mediterranean attract around 600 hours more sunshine per year.

This part of Charente-Maritime is, however, the sunniest on the Atlantic coast, far ahead of Nantes, Bordeaux and the Basque country.  The 100km stretch from Royan up to the Bay of Aiguillon is said to be a mix of influences between Mediterranean and Scandinavian climates.  The area itself has internal variations as well, and it is not uncommon in the early hours of the morning for there to be a twelve degree difference in temperature between Saintes and the Ile d'Oleron, with the Atlantic acting like a radiator to keep the islands warm.

Météo France points out that much of the bad weather in winter passes La Rochelle higher up the coast, and that summer storms tend to pass by further south. One comparison was made with La Roche-sur-Yon in Vendee, which is often affected by fog, despite its close proximity to La Rochelle.

In conclusion then, the micro-climate is for real, but to compare it equally with the Mediterranean regions is stretching things a bit far.